Calflora Taxon Report
Solanum wallacei  (A. Gray) Parish
Catalina nightshade,   Northern island nightshade,   Wallace's nightshade
Solanum wallacei is a perennial herb that is native to California, and found only slightly beyond California borders.
California Rare Plant Rank: 1B.1 (rare, threatened, or endangered in CA and elsewhere).
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
Observation Search
~99 records in California
yellowone or more occurrences
within a 7.5-minute quadrangle
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Genus: Solanum
Family: Solanaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Toxicity: Do not eat any part of this plant.

Communities: Foothill Woodland, Chaparral

Name Status:
Accepted by CNPS + PLANTS

Alternate Names:
OTHERSolanum arborescens
iNatSolanum umbelliferum var. wallacei
JEF + POWOSolanum umbelliferum var. wallacei
Information about Solanum wallacei from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
This plant is available commercially.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (SOWA)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[Wikipedia] Range, Description, Toxicity: Solanum wallacei, also known as Catalina nightshade,[2] Wallace's nightshade, Northern island nightshade, or wild tomato, is a perennial plant that produces purple flowers, but otherwise resembles a tomato plant. The foliage and purple-black berries are poisonous. This rare plant is native to canyons and hillsides on two of the three Channel Islands of California, as well as Guadalupe Island off Baja California.[3] It blooms in April and May. Wallace's nightshade is named for William Allen Wallace (1815-1893) who collected samples from the Los Angeles area around 1854. Also named for him is the woolly daisy, (Eriophyllum wallacei), among others. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)

Suggested Citation
“Calflora - Taxon Report.” The Calflora Database, a non-profit organization. .

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